This Book Belongs To
by The Great Xul
Summary: While down in the vault helping Regina in her and Henry's search for clues about the Author, Emma makes a horrifying discovery. Rated M to be on the safe side.


**A/N** This is my very first fanfic so do be gentle! Because of my warped ideas most people assume that 1) I am a user of psychedelic drugs, or 2) that I was dropped on my head as a child. I can assure you that neither is true (although I _did_ fall down the basement stairs a couple times as a toddler). This little story is a bit AU. A/N continued at the end of the story so as to not spoil anything. What else? Oh, yeah! I don't own OUAT or anything else I may have borrowed from. However, I have no Beta so all mistakes _are_ mine.

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"This Book Belongs To…"

"Oh, God! What the _fuck_?!" came the horrified exclamation from the blonde.

Emma had been down in the vault trying to help Regina in her and Henry's search for clues about the Author when she had stumbled upon "It". _It_ being what at first appeared to be a leather-bound scrapbook for pressing flowers that she had found mixed in with Cora's things in an old steamer trunk. She had opened it up to the first page where written in a child's cursive script were the words _This Book Belongs To Regina. _"Aw, how cute," was the first thing Emma had thought, fully expecting to be looking at something that Regina had made when she was a little girl. She was _mostly_ right. But upon turning through the next few pages Emma quickly discovered that this was no book of pressed flowers.

"Regina! _Regina_!" she started shouting as she dropped the book to the ground, looking thoroughly stricken. Regina had been sitting comfortably at the other end of the vault perusing some ancient tome when the sudden shouting from the Savior startled her. Quickly she jumped up and rushed to see what Emma had gotten into this time. She found the blonde standing there with her hand over her mouth looking like she was about to lose her lunch and staring at the book on the ground.

"Emma, what on earth is going on _now_?"

"Seriously, I think I'm going to be sick! Oh my God, please tell me this isn't what I think it is! What the actual fuck, Regina?"

Regina stooped down to pick up the book from the floor as Emma fell back against the cold stone wall of the crypt, eyes closed and her hand still over her mouth as the bile threatened to make its way up. "Wherever did you find this?" Regina quietly said with a voice filled with equal parts of curiosity, wonder, and amusement as she stood back up. "I haven't seen this in ages; not since I was a little girl. I thought Mother destroyed it." Regina then began to flip through the pages. "Oh, now _this_ is interesting." Regina said wryly and with a smirk.

She was pleased to find that the book still contained the faded but colorful splatters and tiny flattened desiccated bodies stuck to the pages, although there appeared to be more of them than she remembered there to be.

Emma straightened herself from the wall and tried to compose herself. With her face still scrunched up in a disgusted expression and holding her hand palm-out in a _hold on a second_ gesture, the blonde replied, "Could you please tell me what the hell is going on here? What _that_ is?"

"Well," Regina began with her chin slightly in the air and a hint of indignation, "As you may have guessed, Emma, it's a book containing pressed fairies." Regina finished rather nonchalantly and with a one-shoulder shrug.

"And _why_ do you have a book containing pressed fairies?" Emma squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head trying to wrap her mind around the whole thing.

"Well, I never _intended_ to have a book of pressed fairies. Daddy originally gave me the book to use for pressing leaves and flowers. The fairy thing just sort of happened."

"Just sort of happened? Seriously, Regina? How does pressing fairies into a scrapbook _just sort of happen_?" The last bit Emma said while doing air quotes.

"If you'll calm down I'll gladly explain everything to you."

"Right. Fine. I'm all ears."

"Okay," Regina slowly began. "Well, like I said before, Daddy had given me the book when I was a little girl so that I could use it to press flowers and leaves. I couldn't have been any older that eight or nine years old at the time. Mother had never approved of me playing outdoors and getting dirty; she said it wasn't ladylike. Anyway, Daddy new how I loved being outdoors so he figured it would be a good excuse to get me outside, as I would be doing something 'educational'.

"I don't know if you are aware of this or not, but ever since I was a little girl, the fairies refused to grant me any wishes because of my mother. I was just a child! How did my mother's activities have anything to do with me?" Visibly upset, Regina continued. "Regardless, they would never grant me one no matter how small or trivial.

"One day I was out behind the stables with my book when I heard a splashing noise coming from a water trough. When I went to investigate, I found a fairy splashing about in the water. It pleaded with me to help it get out since it was wet and had lost its wand and could not climb up the side of the trough. I figured then was my opportunity to finally get a wish granted. I told the fairy I would help it if it would grant me a wish in return. It agreed that it would grant a wish so I pushed up my sleeve and reached in and pulled the fairy out of the water. I also managed to fish out the fairy's wand from the bottom of the trough.

"I went inside the stable and found some old rags and used them to dry off the fairy. When she was as dry as she was going to get and her wings were all sparkly and shimmering again and ready to fly, I asked her if she would grant my wish. 'Oh,' she replied, 'I said I would grant a wish, but I never said I would grant _your_ wish! I'm granting my own wish and I wish I was out of here!'

"And within a flash she had disappeared. I should have known better than to trust a fairy. Anyway, a few days later the impertinent creature came to gloat as I was sitting outside with my book. The nosy thing even had the audacity to land in the middle of my book to see what I was doing. I was so angry at being deceived that I just instinctively snapped the book shut on the foul thing and squished it with all my might.

"A few days after that another fairy came to berate me for what I had done to the first fairy. It told me that I was just as heartless as my mother." After a humorless chuckle, Regina continued. "I can now appreciate the irony and double entendre in that statement. At that point I had had just about enough of its vile accusations, so when it landed on my book to get in my face to spew more of its venom, I once again snapped the book shut. I've always had quick reflexes."

Emma just stared at her dumbfounded. After a beat she answered. "So that only explains _two_ of the fairies in there. There are clearly more than two!"

"Yes, well…" Regina paused for a moment of consideration before continuing. "Not long after I had pressed the second fairy, Mother confiscated the book from me. She never could stand the thought of me enjoying myself with anything. I was terrified of what she would do to me once she discovered the two squished fairies inside, but she never mentioned it to me. I assumed she had never looked inside and had thrown the book into the fire or something."

"Well, it looks like your mother may have picked up the hobby," Emma said while looking a little green.

"So it would seem. Too bad she never collected that Blue Gnat."

—Fin—

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**A/N #2 ** I shamelessly stole this idea from the infamous and legendary Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book. I was originally going to title this "Regina Mills' Pressed Fairy Book" but then that would have spoiled things a bit. ;)


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